Do You Know it is Maine Blueberry Season?

It is Maine Blueberry Season! I did not know that Maine produces over 90 percent of the wild blueberry crop harvested each year in the United States. When one thinks of Maine, we usually think of lobster; interestingly, the blueberry harvest in Maine amounts to approximately 30 million pounds annually, while last year’s lobster catch amounted to 126 million pounds.

We want our guests to enjoy Maine produce while staying at the Captain Lord Mansion. Thus, we serve delicious freshly-picked blueberries as part of our fresh-fruit offerings for breakfast each morning. Additionally, we serve freshly-baked blueberry muffins and blueberry pancakes at least one day per week.

If you are desirous of an adventure, we can direct you to several local farms where you may pick your own blueberries. These farms offer cultivated high-bush blueberries which are plump and juicy and a lot easier to pick than the wild blueberries which are found in bushes that are very low to the ground and require much back-straining labor. However, there are the “blueberry plains” nearby where you may pick the wild ones! Here is an interesting link to a Blueberry Blog that has a lot of information about the healthy aspects of blueberries..

Reading the recent edition of the “Tourist News,” a local newspaper, I learned a fascinating fact about black bears and blueberries! The author of the article, Dan Marois writes “Perhaps the biggest fan of blueberries is the black bear who considers the feast a delicacy. Bears are known to eat nothing else except the juicy blueberries when they are in season. It has been documented that bears will travel, with an empty stomach, from 10 to 15 miles per day to sniff out a blueberry patch.”